Better late than never…this seems to be my motto recently, one that I am definitely hoping to change before baby boy shows up. The girls are almost halfway through their current dance season and I just realized I never posted about last year. I can’t even blame it on the preggo brain…I’ll just say we were really busy this summer!
Our girls love to dance. From inside my belly on, they have both been movers and shakers. Bailey started when she was about 18 months, when we met the wonderful Miss Holly at Wiggles & Giggles and then followed her onto Perception. Our first year at PDC was an eye opener. There were so many talented dancers that put so much time and love into every rehearsal and performance. There was a great sense of community that was even extended to the littlest dancers of the group.
We met a lot of great families and enjoyed the independence our tiny dancers gained when going into class on their own for an entire hour. This past year, we enjoyed getting back into the groove of dance and spending more time with our dance family. Bailey loved it so much that when we were asked to join Mini Company, we knew we had to give it a try.
Mermaid Party – Mini Company
When we were first approached to have Bailey join Mini Company, we didn’t really know what we were getting into. An extra half hour after her regular class to learn a new dance didn’t seem too daunting. We were going to be joining late in the game, but we were open to it. Plus, when Bailey found out she was going to be a mermaid, she was ready to be fitted for her costume.
Ms. Keli, Bailey’s new dance teacher, was amazing at getting Bailey caught up with the new dance. She is so patient and sweet, we are so lucky to have her. With just a few practices before the first performance, we tried to catch up as quickly as we could. Of course, the weather didn’t help as it snowed every Wednesday for about two or three months. We did have a couple extra practices in there but let’s just say we weren’t 100% prepared for the first performance.
Looking back it’s funny how unprepared I was to be a Mini Company Dance Mom. I am so used to winging it and just trying to get our girls in the car on time. As long as they were dressed and looked cute, I thought we were good. Nope. Clearly I had a lot to learn about dance hair, jazz shoes, safety pins, performance gifts and spray gel…oh the spray gel. Luckily I’m a fast learner and the other Mermaid Moms (and other fellow PDC Moms) were gracious and super helpful teaching me the ropes. Thank you all from the bottom of my newbie heart!
Pre Hair Help…Bad Mom 
No flyaways here 
We had 4 performances for Mini Company – the parent’s show, the first competition, In10sity Dance at the KCI Expo, the second competition, StarQuest, at the Music Hall and the recital. Watching these girls grow through each performance was amazing. The four of them worked so hard together and had a lot of fun. They listened and waited patiently for their turn and got on stage and danced their hearts out. Watching them get off the stage after each performance, the excitement in their eyes, was exciting. Watching the older dancers cheer the littles on and sit with them during the results made you appreciate what PDC instills…a sense of family.
Parent Show
In10sity Dance
StarQuest
I am so glad we decided to join Mini Company. Not only did Bailey’s skill level grow, but her confidence and teamwork shined. I am so proud of our little Mermaid and all of the other Mermaids for their dedication and hard work all season long. It really gave us a glimpse into the amount of time, work and dedication it takes for the older Company dancers who are among the best dancers we’ve ever seen. (Big congratulations to all the Prince Ali dancers and all the national and regional champs – we loved watching and cheering for you all year!)
Little Sis takes the Stage
Watching your big sister do something she loves can make you yearn for the same feeling. Sienna loves to dance and didn’t quite understand that she was too little to join the fun. She dressed the part every week, watched her sister join her friends and clapped with delight watching the performances each week. It was not enough.
One day, a month or so after her 18 month mark, she decided she was going to join the dance circle at the beginning of Bailey’s class and wasn’t going to leave. I tried to coax her out to come with me back to the waiting area, but she wasn’t having it. She had her tutu, her ballet shoes and she was ready to dance. Fortunately Ms. Keli is wonderful and said that she could stay since it was a smaller class.
I waited outside the door, listening for tears or screams but was left with nothing. I joined the other moms and waited. When it was time to come in to watch at the end of class I was greeted with big hugs from both girls and I have never seen Sienna more proud. She was a dancer. Ms. Keli said that she did great in class and listened really well…I almost keeled over in shock, but I was really proud of our little nugget.
We decided to put her on a trial basis to see how she did and she stayed with the class for the rest of the year. She was officially a Love Bug with her older sister and the youngest PDC dancer they’d had. It was adorable to watch and fortunately their weren’t many sister fights. Bailey enjoyed having her in class – as long as she could be the lone Mermaid of the family.
Dance Recital Rehearsal
The season went by so fast and before we knew it, it was recital time. Of course we had to make things difficult for ourselves by having a garage sale the same week as recital. Luckily Gigi held down the fort while we trekked up to Lansing for the rehearsal. Since we were in two different dances and had an outfit change, I had to be on my game. Plus we had photos so the pressure was really on…especially since I was on my own 45 minutes from home.
Thankfully the other PDC Dance Moms had trained me well. I came equipped with extra hair gel, hair ties, bobby pins, makeup, etc. I just needed to wrangle two dancers and make sure their hair, costumes and smiles were on point. The morning went by pretty smooth, the Love Bugs had photos first so we didn’t have much time to mess ourselves up. Not sure how Sienna would do in front of a photographer she didn’t know, I was a little nervous…but she nailed it. Then Bailey the pro only needed 2 photos to get what they needed and they did a sisters pic. Be still my heart! By the time the group photo rolled around, the girls were having fun. And I knew our pocketbook would be hurting later.
Next up, the Love Bugs rehearsal. It was Sienna’s first time on stage and she was ready to follow her big sisters cue. The Love Bug Moms scooted to the front row for some video. They decided to scoot the little ones closer to the stage, which seemed like a good idea until they realized that part of their dance was a sassy walk forward…and the stage was about 10 feet up from the pit. Let’s just say my heart dropped a bit as they teetered almost over the edge of the stage…and I think Ms. Keli had about the same reaction…enjoy my moment of panic in the video below:
If I can make it through that, I can make it through anything. The rest of rehearsal was a piece of cake…the Mermaids snapped their photos and we waited for them to get a chance to rehearse. With all the competitions under their belt, they looked like seasoned pros. We waved goodbye to all our friends and then we were back to the garage sale and ready to rest up for the big day.
Showtime: Recital 2019
Recital day was here and we had a full house ready to cheer on our tiny dancers. Grandma & Grandpa Schorr and Granny came in town to watch the girls and Gigi & Pop Pop were ready for the hike up to Lansing. Our morning was a bit of a whirlwind full of hairspray, gel and lots of makeup, but the girls, Brian and I were on the road with plenty of time.
I am not going to lie…I was a little nervous, especially after last year’s recital. I held my breath a few times and waited for the tears, but the girls did amazing! I am so proud of both of them. They worked so hard and had so much fun this year. I was the one with tears in my eyes during their performances. We might have bootlegged their performances, but don’t worry, we also bought the DVD. I am proud to be a PDC Dance Mom and am so excited to see what this year brings!
Here are the professional photos from this year:
I wanted to give a special thanks to Ms. Keli for being an amazing teacher and having unlimited patience with both girls. Thank you to all of the PDC dancers, families and teachers (especially Miss Holly and Miss Meredith) for supporting us and for welcoming us. We love you all! Cheers to a wonderful season and an even better one to come!
